volcanohunter

I don't think anyone suggested that professional dance experience is required to become a good dance writer. Angyal's experience is probably similar to that of many ballet lovers and highlights the lasting benefit of childhood exposure to ballet lessons. A number of studies, including those conducted by the NEA, have found links between childhood participation in activities and continued "consumption" of them in adulthood. The question of Angyal's connection to the ballet world was raised, that's all.

Coppélia from the Teatro Colón.

Oropesa singing "Addio del passato" in Madrid earlier this week. And then singing it again by popular demand.

That's interesting. Was an explanation given for why the "white swan" adage was omitted while the "black swan" pas de deux was included?

Angyal is a self-described ballet fan, who took lessons in childhood, but by her admission didn't have much aptitude for it.

The Holmes production of Le Corsaire from the Teatro Colón.

The letter California posted included a link to the ABT Crisis Relief Fund and didn't specify a donation amount. The letter I got included a link to the membership page, where the basic level is $100. Perhaps that's an upsell.

I am not an ABT donor or subscriber, but I am on the emailing list. I received a pitch for the Manon stream on July 15th. I took it to mean that a minimum donation of $100 is required. The message has more than a whiff of exclusivity to it, which is why it isn't front and center on the ABT site. It's also possible that the video has less than stupendous picture quality, which could disappoint viewers outside the hardcore ABT fan base that might be invested in seeing Ferri, Bolle, Cornejo and Murphy regardless of how the video looks.

The Royal Ballet's production of The Sleeping Beauty, with Fumi Kaneko and Federico Bonelli, starting at 7:00 pm BST / 2:00 pm Eastern. It will be available for two weeks.

The Royal Ballet, English National Ballet, Scottish Ballet, Stuttgart Ballet and National Ballet of Japan are some of the companies that have streamed MacMillan ballets during the pandemic. Only the Royal Ballet's videos had been intended for public broadcast, and the others varied in video and sound quality. Some were available for one day, others for a month. None of those companies is based in the U.S., of course, though we've all be watching streams from American troupes that got the necessary permissions. (P.S. It's Lady MacMillan. She wasn't the one knighted. But one of the reasons I refuse to use the title is that the same courtesy isn't extended to husbands of Dames.)

The Philharmonia Orchestra filmed a rather wonderful, physically distanced concert featuring Saint-Saëns' First Cello Concerto with Sheku Kanneh-Mason and Vaughan Williams' Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis. Two more such concerts are coming down the pike.

"Resolve," eh? Just maybe this would be the time to rein in the competitive instinct and the drive toward domination. 🙄

As it happens, there are reviews of Kaufmann's recital, including a clip the Met posted. https://observer.com/2020/07/jonas-kaufmann-metropolitan-opera-recital-series-review/

The Vienna State Opera has published audience guidelines for its new season, scheduled to begin on September 7th. While they include notes on reduced seating and requests to use hand sanitizer, there are no mask requirements. https://www.wiener-staatsoper.at/en/service/covid-19-information/ The schedule for September consists of full-blown, evening-length productions: Madama Butterfly, Elektra, Simon Boccanegra, L'elisir d'amore, La Fille du régiment, Don Carlos [!]. The first ballet scheduled is Jewels on September 24th.

Streams can, theoretically, be quite economical if they are watched by a group of people, so the $20 becomes $10, $6.67 or $5 per person. In the past I was rather reluctant to shell out for Vienna State Opera streams unless I knew others would be at home to watch with me. Incidentally, Vienna's paid streaming seasons typically include a few solo recitals by star singers.